My photos of the natural world's inhabitants, juxtaposed with what I've discovered about them.

Sunday, October 05, 2008

What happened?

I'm going to put this out as a reader challenge while I do some research myself. I came across this somewhat disturbing spectacle in a local bit of bushland. The spider (which was on a vertical trunk as it happens) appears to be a huntsman which has been/is being consumed by some sort of parasitic fungus. It certainly makes me shudder. Apologies for the photo quality, I only had my happy snap camera with me at the time.

Some fungal expert ought have a look at your photo. Lovely purplish colour on the body. I think Mosura has given you the right pointer - probably sucked dry by another spider, then the carcase taken over by the fungus. Denis

Could be Metarhizium spp. Which is a generalist invertebrate infecting fungi. The government is buying huge quantities of this biocide and spraying it across thousands of hectares of national park and reserve at the moment to kill native invertebrates.Regards,Eumong

Hi ErisThere is something weird with the time stamps on that Blog.The original post was posted in 2008.That precedes the recent attack on Locusts. But I am still sympathetic to your cause - just it cannot be linked to this case.RegardsDenis Wilson